ICFF 2010: A wink on the wall, a green queen, punk teacups and some cocktail therapy

British designer Deborah Bowness premiered wallpaper that reproduced her favorite framed artworks, each photographed in sections and reassembled David Hockney-style. (That's her above, "sitting" on a separate wallpaper sofa below her art montage.)

The wallpaper is silk-screened in black and white, by hand, then painted in color, again by hand. “They’re all from junk markets or second-hand shops,” Bowness said of the artworks. For her ICFF booth, the designer mixed 2D with 3D -- vintage postcards, framed needlepoint and other novelties picked up days before while thrift shopping in Brooklyn. Perhaps the best part? In the corner, the image of an office clock, set to 1 p.m. “Always lunchtime,” Bowness said.

More amusements below:

Above: The Solar Queen figurine from Kikkerland dutifully gestures to
her subjects with a swiveling wrist powered by a tiny solar panel
on her purse. Credit: Michael Nagle / For the Los Angeles Times

Above: London-based Hanna Tonek Bonnett had some fun with her own 2008 design, giving dainty
teacups a bit of an edge. Now a rim of white gold drips messily
down into the tidy flowers below. Credit: Michael Nagle / For the Los Angeles Times

Above: Urbancase, a Seattle design and build firm, launched the Emergency Cocktail Station, a wall-mounted bar for those times when first aid means shaken, not stirred. The design, by Darin Montgomery, includes a drop-down door that doubles as a miniature prep table. Credit: Urbancase

Above: Jaime Salm, co-founder of the Philadelphia design studio Mio, snaps a picture at the request of visitors to his booth at ICFF. As fashion companies increasingly jump into home décor, Mio is going for a little payback. The firm, known for sustainably produced furniture, housewares and lighting, is designing Tyvek jackets and felt hats. The leap has some logic: Mio's early success came largely from felt bowls and felt lamps made by a milliner, who is producing the hats.

Above: Mio also showed a new bicycle basket, left, and freestanding basket, right, that embodied the company's green objectives. The basket ships as a flat piece of steel, above right in blue, reducing packaging and shipping costs; customers stretch it into shape themselves. The freestanding piece could be used as an umbrella stand, perhaps, or lined with a bag for trash. The economy of design means there's little metal waste in the manufacturing process. Credit: Michael Nagle / For the Los Angeles Times

-- Craig Nakano

Photo credit, top: Michael Nagle / For the Los Angeles Times

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